Baftas 2009: Jonathan Ross puts odd word in speech

Jonathan Ross kept a promise he made on Twitter to slip an unlikely word into his Bafta script – and the word was "salad".

The audience of Hollywood stars at London's Royal Opera House listened in bemusement as the presenter made the reference.

Introducing the award for costume design, Ross said: "In my view, actors are in many ways like salad – they are nothing without great dressing."

The comment was met with confused silence, and Ross went on: "I will pause for a moment to let the magnitude of that analogy sink in for you."

The presenter had invited his 75,000 followers on the Twitter blog to suggest a silly word which he would include in his monologue. To the relief of BBC bosses and Bafta executives, he promised to reject anything "overtly sexual".

He considered "discombobulate" and "muffintop" before asking his wife, Jane, to choose the winning entry.

Ross 'tweeted' the result from Bafta rehearsals, several hours before the ceremony began.

"My wife has chosen Bafta word. SALAD!" he announced, adding: "Salad is tough. Am working on it. It's random in an awards show."

Mindful of his recent suspension for sending obscene messages to the Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, Ross delivered an inoffensive script for the ceremony, which was broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two with an hour's delay.

Before the event started, he raised a laugh when he took to the stage and told the audience: "Obviously it's an honour to be here – and a little bit of a surprise."

He gently poked fun at assembled stars including Kate Winslet, whose teary speech at the Golden Globes was much mocked.

"Just in case emotion does get the better of you – don't panic, we've asked the Thames people to raise the flood barrier. We're safe," he said.